Yalla Yalla

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

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Users say
(20)

4 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

Yalla Yalla continues to produce its hit formula of superior Lebanese cooking in a casual setting. Its self-styled ‘Beirut street food’ resonates with the upbeat informality of these dinky Soho premises; we’ve found the quality to match that of much pricier restaurants. Diners cram on to faux-rustic tables at lunchtime, while others nip in for takeaway wraps – filled with everything from falafel to spicy sujuk sausage – from the pre-prepared selection behind the counter. We were presented with arabic bread, olives and torshi (pickles) as we perused the menu: not the big salad bowls of the posh places, but a charming touch nonetheless. From the concise list of meze dishes we tried a chunky, smoky baba ganoush and a flavour-packed fattoush salad. A profusion of fresh salad vegetables (lettuce, radish, cucumber, spring onion, cucumber and tomatoes) had been labour-intensively chopped small, before adding crispy toasted pitta, a dusting of warm sumac and a red wine vinaigrette – brilliant. Halloumi meshoué (grilled) was fine too, served with olives and mint. There’s also a selection of main-course grills. In all, you get an edited version of a full Lebanese menu here, served in a convivial atmosphere, with the bonus of cocktails in the evening.

Very surprised to see an average 3 star rating on this place. I LOVE IT. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. It's tiny, but you can takeaway food if there aren't any tables. Expect usual lebanese fayre - falafel, hummus, vine leaves, halloumi, shawarma kebabs (is that how you spell it? Good). Not a bad spot if you want good food but healthy options. It's so tiny inside that it has a lovely buzz about it. It's a little bit dark and dingy, but it's got atmosphere and the staff are friendly but mainly just fast. We were in and out after a hefty platter of middle-eastern deliciousness in 30 minutes. Oh, and it cost under a tenner each with a main and a drink. Tip - the "light lunch" is bloody huge - plenty of food for one human being. I will return!

Came here after a theatre matinee. (The Green's Court branch was nearer and is very small). It was the first time we'd tried Lebanese food. The meal was delicious and the service really good - efficient without being hurried. The staff were genuinely concerned to ensure that you enjoyed your meal. Will definitely visit again.

The place was buzzing when we stopped for lunch, though service was quick. We punted for 4 mezze dishes for two of us; each costing £4-5. Good choice for veggies. Dishes were a nice size and 4 was plenty. I sampled the falafel, spinach fatayer and vine leaves. The chunky, spicy falafel and refreshingly lemony vine leaves made for a tasty meal, but the spinach fatayer was dry and weirdly sweet. Without houmous or baba ganoush, it was all a little too dry, which resulted in us guzzling some nice lemonades from their selection.

Fantastic food, great value and a lovely atmosphere. Not a place to go for dinner if you are in a rush, service was rather slow, didn't ruin the experience though. Will be going back, highly recommended.

Small and tiny cafe/restaurant, enjoyed my dinner there with couple of friends, mezze was fresh and tasty, fattush salad was the best, hommus was creamy with a hint of garlic. they recommend the Lebanese white as i remember was St Thomas which was nice and fruity. Service was helpful also.

After reading amazing reviews about Yalla Yalla, my husband and I decided to have a go and we both can't believe how dissapointing it was! The homemade lemonade was very nice though, but the actual food is either overrated or we were unlucky enough to get the wrong cook! The Chicken was overcooked and the vermicelli rice luke warm... Our waitress was a bit abrupt and seemed as if she couldn't wait to go home.
Maybe it was because we went on a Sunday that they had ran out of steam or something, but we won't be rushing back to find out :0(

Extremely rude staff and very slow service . After waiting for 20 minutes for take away food the waiter who mixed up my order handed me my money back, told me not to waste his time and walked away. AVOID THIS PLACE!

The food is ok. However there has been a problem each and every time i have eaten here. today was the last time. the service is slow the staff sulky and can be cramped. perhaps all the stars are from people who havent eaten much lebanese food. i have never been servced a shawarma heated through on a panini heater before.
Street food should be quick hot and fresh. Disappointing

I've been here a couple of times now for lunch with a friend. The food has been good on both occasions and the service friendly. It is a little bit cramped and on both times we were there it was very busy. Saying that, we were never rushed.

Price is cheap so maybe it reflects in the food quality. Kibbeh Nayeh was mediocre, with more bulgur than meat. Hummus as good as the ones you can find in the supermarket. Mouhalabieh was not creamy as it should be.

After waiting for 15min at around 10pm, we were kicked out from the restaurant. The reason was because we didn't order the main meals from the menu. Stay away if you don't want to be forced what to eat!!!